Epilepsy/Seizures

Every patient is different, and it can take time to find the right combination of therapies that will be most effective for your child.

The Dayton Children’s neurology department offers neurodiagnostic testing and ongoing care for children who are experiencing seizures.

A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. A person who has two or more seizures typically is diagnosed with childhood epilepsy.

Some seizures are not very noticeable, while others are disabling. They may be a symptom of an underlying problem, and can be triggered by many things, such as an illness, head injury and sleep deprivation. Family history also can play a role.

Every patient is different

Every patient is different, and it can take time to find the right combination of therapies that will be most effective for your child. Pediatric seizure treatment options include:

Seizure control medication

Vagal nerve stimulation, a surgical implant that produces weak electrical signals that travel along the vagal nerve to the brain. These signals help prevent the electrical bursts in the brain that cause seizures.

Ketogenic diet therapy, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, adequate protein diet that can be used to treat difficult-to-control seizures. Learn more.

These therapies, alone or in combination, are usually effective in helping patients achieve seizure control. But when they don’t, surgery is sometimes an option. Neurosurgeons at Dayton Children’s do not offer pediatric epilepsy surgery, but your neurologist can refer you to specialists at other centers who do. After surgery, your child can return to Dayton Children’s for comprehensive follow-up care.